On October 23, 2002, West was in a California recording studio producing music for Beanie Sigel, Peedi Crakk, and the Black Eyed Peas. After leaving the studio at around 3 a.m. in his rented Lexus, he had a near-fatal accident when he got cut off by a car, ran head-on into traffic, and collided with another car near the W Hotel.[1][2][3] He was taken to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and had his jaw wired to his face in reconstructive surgery. Two weeks after being admitted to hospital, he recorded the song at the Record Plant Studios with his jaw still wired shut.[4][5] The song's title refers to the wires used to hold his broken jaw together.
[6] When asked about how the incident changed his music, West stated:

Well, the only thing this accident's is saying is, "I am about to hand you the world, just know at any given time I can take it away from you." To nearly lose your life, to nearly lose your mouth, your voice, your whole face, as a rapper...and I had to be on TV! My face looks crazy to me now... But I have to just thank God for the situation that I am in... "Through The Wire" is the worst thing that could've possibly happen to me, and now it's obviously the best thing. Look how it exploded![7]

The track circulated on West's unofficial mixtapes before being officially released in late 2003.[8] Although he initially had trouble convincing Roc-A-Fella Records executives to let him make his own album as a rapper, he was able to change their minds after the song's release.[9]

[Chorus:]
Through the fire, to the limit, to the wall
For a chance to be with you, I'd gladly risk it all
Through the fire, through whatever come what may
For a chance at loving you, I'd take it all away
Right down through the wire, even through the fire

I spit it through the wire man
To much stuff on my heart right now man
I'll gladly risk it all right now
It's a life or death situation man
Y'all don't really understand how I feel right now man
It's your boy Kanye to the....
Chi-Town what's going on man

[Verse 1:]
I drink a boost for breakfast, and ensure for desert
Somebody ordered pancakes I just sip the sizzurp
That right there could drive a sane man bizzerk
Not to worry y'll Mr. H 2 the Izzo's back to wizzerk
How do you console my mom or give her light support
When you telling her your sons' on life support
And just imagine how my girl feel
On the plane scared as hell that her guy look like Emmett Till
She was with me before the deal she been trying to be mine
She a delta so she been throwing them Dynasty signs
No use me tryin' to be lyin'
I been trying to signed
Trying to be a millionaire
How I use two lifelines
In the same hospital where Big Small died
The doctor said I had blood clots
But I ain't Jamaican man
Story on MTV and I ain't trying to make the band
I swear this right here is history in the making man

[Chorus]

I really apologize how I sound right now man
If it's unclear at all, man
They got my mouth wired shut for like I don't know the doctor said for like six weeks
You know we had reconstru....
I had reconstructive surgery on my jaw
Looked in the mirror half my jaw was in the back of my mouth man
I couldn't believe it
But I'm still here for you all right now yo
This is what I gotta say yo
Yeah, turn me up yeah

[Verse 2:]
What if somebody from the Chi that was ill got a deal on the hottest rap label around
But he wasn't talking bout coke and birds it was more like spoken word
Except he really putting it down
And he explained the story about how blacks came from glory
And what we need to do in the game
Good dude, Bad night, Right place, Wrong time
In the blink of an eye his whole life changed
If you could feel how my face felt you would know how Mase felt
Thank God I ain't to cool for the safe belt
I swear to God drive two on the sue
I got lawyer for the case to keep whats in my safe; safe
My dawgs couldn't tell if I
I look Tom Cruise on Vanilla Sky, it was televised
All they heard was that I was in an accident like GEICO
They thought I was burnt up like Pepsi did Michael
I must gotta angel
Cause look how death missed his ass
Unbreakable, would you thought they called me Mr. Glass?
Look back on my life like the ghost of Christmas past
Toys R Us where I used to spend that Christmas cash
And I still wont grow up, I'm a grown ass kid
Swear I should be locked up for stupid shit that I did
But I'm a champion, so I turned tragedy to triumph
Make music that's fire, spit my soul through the wire

[Chorus]

Know what I'm saying
When the doctor told me I had a um.. I was going to have a plate on my chin
I said dawg don't you realize I'll never make it on the plane now
Its bad enough I got all this jewelry on
Can't be serious man

Top 10 Kanye songs...top 3 listed, rest are in no particular order.
All Falls Down
Hit 'em High
Never Let You Down
Two Words(#2)
Heard 'em Say
Touch the Sky
Drive Slow(#3)
We Major(#1)
Hey Mama
Diamonds from Sierra Leone

[Chorus 1 - Lil Wayne]
I got a lot of loot and I ain't lookin' for a lady
And you can never pay me I'm from Uptown baby
I wake up in the mornin' take a piss and wash my hands
Take a knee and thank the Man then get back to the money
You ain't know I gotta go
Where ya goin'? I gotta get back to the money
You ain't know I gotta go
Where ya goin'? I gotta get back to the money
To the money

[Verse 1 - Lil Wayne]
***** I ain't got a money printer
So for this paper chase I'm out runnin' sprinters
Yes the last two Cash Money members
Shout out to the new Cash Money members
Baby and Slim still point guard and center
So much money on my mind it's all I remember
And I just bought a gun wit' a extender
And that ***** hold me up like suspenders
Cut like a blender sharper than a *****
They got so many ***** ****** I can make a list
****** wonder why I stress that I am the best
'Cause even bobble heads tell me yes.. haha
Put it on the hood I'm Hollygrove to death
I'm already good I'm workin' on my left
A jungle on my wrist a circus on my neck
Don't forget the Baby no don't forget the F

[Chorus 2 - Lil Wayne - 2X]
You ain't know I gotta go
Where ya goin'? I gotta get back to the money
You ain't know I gotta go
Where ya goin'? I gotta get back to the money
To the money

[Verse 2 - Birdman]
Brush the platinum grab the straps homie make it happen
Comin' through my neighborhood wit' 4's on the Caddy
Limo tints out the pound and Uptown crackin'
Red bandanna duckin' feds and the money stackin'
Rest in peace to Miss Gladys like e'eryday
We on the grind for the shine and we gon' get paid
Spent a mill' on the wheels custom wit' the navi'
2 of the same whips we doin' it big livin' lavish

[Lil Wayne]
This is a Scott Storch and I'm a hot torch
And gettin' money is my sport
And understand the rap game is my court
So I shall walk and come forth like a Rockport
Or some sort of... matchin' slippers or yacht shoes
See I don't cruise control I control the cruise
Yes... I gets throat on a boat
And I vow to never fall like soap on a rope and

[Chorus 1 - Lil Wayne]
I got a lot of loot and I ain't lookin' for a lady
And you can never pay me I'm from Uptown baby
I wake up in the mornin' take a piss and wash my hands
Take a knee and thank the Man then get back to the money
You ain't know I gotta go
Where ya goin'? I gotta get back to the money
You ain't know I gotta go
Where ya goin'? I gotta get back to the money
To the money

[Verse 3 - Birdman]
Fresh wit' the hustle so we bounce back on them suckers
Blowin' big doin' gigs got it ran in hundreds
They reppin' layin' here we stuntin'
On the grind all the time homie gettin' money
3rd Ward soldier 13th gangsta
17th hustler known top ranker
Money go getter them clowns can't figure
Poppin' at the mouth like this cutter won't split 'em
Know how to survive hustlin' stayin' fly
My whole hood cried when my lil' brother died
Know I had to ride never let it slide
It's just the G in me and I'ma get it til I die daddy

[Chorus 2 - Lil Wayne - 2X]
You ain't know I gotta go
Where ya goin'? I gotta get back to the money
You ain't know I gotta go
Where ya goin'? I gotta get back to the money
To the money

[Eminem]
May I have your attention please?
May I have your attention please?
Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?
I repeat, will the real Slim Shady please stand up?
We're gonna have a problem here..

Y'all act like you never seen a white person before
Jaws all on the floor like Pam, like Tommy just burst in the door
and started whoopin her ass worse than before
they first were divorce, throwin her over furniture (Ahh!)
It's the return of the... "Ah, wait, no way, you're kidding,
he didn't just say what I think he did, did he?"
And Dr. Dre said... nothing you idiots!
Dr. Dre's dead, he's locked in my basement! (Ha-ha!)
Feminist women love Eminem
[*vocal turntable: chigga chigga chigga*]
"Slim Shady, I'm sick of him
Look at him, walkin around grabbin his you-know-what
Flippin the you-know-who," "Yeah, but he's so cute though!"
Yeah, I probably got a couple of screws up in my head loose
But no worse, than what's goin on in your parents' bedrooms
Sometimes, I wanna get on TV and just let loose, but can't
but it's cool for Tom Green to hump a dead moose
"My bum is on your lips, my bum is on your lips"
And if I'm lucky, you might just give it a little kiss
And that's the message that we deliver to little kids
And expect them not to know what a woman's clitoris is
Of course they gonna know what intercourse is
By the time they hit fourth grade
They got the Discovery Channel don't they?
"We ain't nothing but mammals.." Well, some of us cannibals
who cut other people open like cantaloupes [SLURP]
But if we can hump dead animals and antelopes
then there's no reason that a man and another man can't elope
[*EWWW!*] But if you feel like I feel, I got the antidote
Women wave your pantyhose, sing the chorus and it goes

[Eminem]
Will Smith don't gotta cuss in his raps to sell his records;
well I do, so **** him and **** you too!
You think I give a damn about a Grammy?
Half of you critics can't even stomach me, let alone stand me
"But Slim, what if you win, wouldn't it be weird?"
Why? So you guys could just lie to get me here?
So you can, sit me here next to Britney Spears?
Shit, Christina Aguilera better switch me chairs
so I can sit next to Carson Daly and Fred Durst
and hear 'em argue over who she gave head to first
You little *****, put me on blast on MTV
"Yeah, he's cute, but I think he's married to Kim, hee-hee!"
I should download her audio on MP3
and show the whole world how you gave Eminem VD [AHHH!]
I'm sick of you little girl and boy groups, all you do is annoy me
so I have been sent here to destroy you [bzzzt]
And there's a million of us just like me
who cuss like me; who just don't give a **** like me
who dress like me; walk, talk and act like me
and just might be the next best thing but not quite me!

[Chorus]

[Eminem]
I'm like a head trip to listen to, cause I'm only givin you
things you joke about with your friends inside your living room
The only difference is I got the balls to say it
in front of y'all and I don't gotta be false or sugarcoated at all
I just get on the mic and spit it
and whether you like to admit it [*ERR*] I just shit it
better than ninety percent of you rappers out can
Then you wonder how can kids eat up these albums like valiums
It's funny; cause at the rate I'm goin when I'm thirty
I'll be the only person in the nursin home flirting
Pinchin nurses asses when I'm jackin off with Jergens
And I'm jerkin but this whole bag of Viagra isn't working
And every single person is a Slim Shady lurkin
He could be workin at Burger King, spittin on your onion rings
[*HACH*] Or in the parkin lot, circling
Screaming "I don't give a ****!"
with his windows down and his system up
So, will the real Shady please stand up?
And put one of those fingers on each hand up?
And be proud to be outta your mind and outta control
and one more time, loud as you can, how does it go?

[Chorus 4X]

[Eminem]
Ha ha
Guess there's a Slim Shady in all of us
**** it, let's all stand up

[Eminem]
There they go, back in stadiums as Shady spits his flow
Nuts they go, macadamian they go so ballistic, whoa
We can make them look like Bozos
He's wondering if he should spit this slow
**** no! Go for broke
His cup just runneth over, oh no
He aint had a real buzz like this since the last time that he overdosed
Theyve been waiting patiently for Pinocchio to poke his nose
Back into the game and they know
Rap will never be the same as before
Bashing in the brains of these hoes
And establishing a name as he goes
The passion and the flame is ignited
You cant put it out once we light it
This shit is exactly what the **** that Im talking about when we riot
You dealin with a few true villains
Whose stand inside of the booth truth spillin
And spit true feelings, until our tooth fillings come flying up out of our mouths
Now rewind it!
Payback mutha****a for the way that you got at me hows it taste?
When I slap the taste out your mouth with the bass so loud that it shakes the place
Im Hannibal Lecter so just in case youre thinking of saving face
You aint gonna have no face to save by the time I'm through with this place
So Drake

Lil' Wayne]
(Speak to them Jazze)
I
(Yea fly guy)
I'm way more fly than you
(That's right)
I'll take your dime from you
(That's right)
Now she wanna spend all night with me
(She wanna wake up with Weezy-F baby)
Let me be the one that you throw it to, baby
(Throw it back ma, throw it back, throw it back, throw it back ma)
I'd like to spend the rest of my night with you
(Yea so how bout you, so how bout you)

[Lil' Wayne]
I'll take your ***** give her back; take your ***** again
That's because you throw a 5 I pitch a 10
Now she wanna get inside of me 66
She sees that my wrist is blue and yellow like Michigan
She say she love her man she misses him
But nobody do it better than her distance dick (me)
I'm her long distance pimp
When I land my ******* want for me on the strip (yup)
And I don't lie I confess, I'm the one who turn that orange vest to a dress
Gotta dress to impess though, Gotta stay clean, plus momma in a Lex 4
She with me, what you expect, I live to be fly to death
It's the bird man jr. sincerely yours
When it rains it pours, when it rain it whores

[Chorus]
[Lil' Wayne]
Now why you wanna go do that
I can see through that
Tattoo right there like I view that
Girl what that say, what who that
Bet he was lame, bet he Lil' Wayne (no)
Cus I'm way more flyer
Have you hanging round a bunch of yayo buyers (nop)
And not a day go by us, we don't get high than the telephone wires
Cut your telephone we riding where phones don't roam they don't even come on
You're far from home so leave it alone
You creeping with the king of the throne
You sleeping in a tee and a thong
With your hair in a pony
I ain't got no blinds we can stare at the morning (yup)
But I can't be there all morning
Girl I'm a pimp, I'm going, going, going, gone

[Chorus]
[Lil' Wayne]
I'm Sorry I was grooving
Gotta love that laid back Mannie Fresh music
But let's get back to what we were doing
Laid back in that black on Pat Ewing's
That's 33 tires he fire
These streets ain't papaya ma
You gotta keep heat on your side
2 must
So I'm a get 3 more and cop you one
Wait, naw hun cus you ain't exempt
If your ass ever trip I'll give you a clip (yea)
But I love the way your jeans suck in your hip
And you walk kinda mean how you strut with a dip
And you talk kinda clean and you lick your lips
But I can't fall for you cus I stick to the scrip (yup)
I said I stick to my grip; I stick to my money, that's life to me
Sorry honey Jazze

[Chorus]
[Lil' Wayne]
So how bout you yea
So how bout you
See what I'm talking bout sweet heart you ain't even gotta have John Madden
you ain't gotta have Dick Vitale, you ain't gotta Lee Carsole
you ain't gotta have Stuart Scott, you ain't gotta have Linda Cohn
know what I'm talking bout, you ain't gotta have the staff of ESPN
you ain't gotta have ABC staff just to talk sports baby cus I got game
Just **** with the boy and I'll get you a jersey
What you want me to put on the back
Daddy's little girl that's right, see what I'm talking bout
I can't give you the game but I can show the game
and you can see what you see and peek how you peek and see what you get
know what I'm talking bout
Weezy

Ahem.. excuse me!
Can I have the attention of the class for one second?

[Eminem:]
Hi kids! Do you like violence? (Yeah yeah yeah!)
Wanna see me stick Nine Inch Nails through each one of my eyelids? (Uh-huh!)
Wanna copy me and do exactly like I did? (Yeah yeah!)
Try 'cid and get ****ed up worse that my life is? (Huh?)
My brain's dead weight, I'm trying to get my head straight
But I can't figure out which Spice Girl I want to impregnate (Ummmm..)
And Dr. Dre said, "Slim Shady you a basehead!"
Uh-uhhh! "So why's your face red? Man you wasted!"
Well since age twelve, I've felt like I'm someone else
Cause I hung my original self from the top bunk with a belt
Got pissed off and ripped Pamela Lee's tits off
And smacked her so hard I knocked her clothes backwards like Kris Kross
I smoke a fat pound of grass and fall on my ass
Faster than a fat ***** who sat down too fast
C'mere slut! (Shady, wait a minute, that's my girl dog!)
I don't give a ****, God sent me to piss the world off!

[Chorus]

[Eminem:]
My English teacher wanted to flunk me in Junior High
Thanks a lot, next semester I'll be 35
I smacked him in his face with an eraser, chased him with a stapler
And stapled his nuts to a stack of papers (Owwwwwwww!)
Walked in the strip club, had my jacket zipped up
Flashed the bartender, then stuck my dick in the tip cup
Extraterrestrial, running over pedestrians
In a space ship while they screaming at me: "LET'S JUST BE FRIENDS!"
Ninety-nine percent of my life I was lied to
I just found out my mom does more dope than I do (Damn!)
I told her I'd grow up to be a famous rapper
Make a record about doing drugs and name it after her (Oh thank you!)
You know you blew up when the women rush your stands
And try to touch your hands like some screaming Usher fans (Aaahhhhhh!)
This guy at White Castle asked for my autograph
(Dude, can I get your autograph?)
So I signed it: 'Dear Dave, thanks for the support, ASSHOLE!'

[Chorus]

[Eminem:]
Stop the tape! This kid needs to be locked away! (Get him!)
Dr. Dre, don't just stand there, OPERATE!
I'm not ready to leave, it's too scary to die (**** that!)
I'll have to be carried inside the cemetery and buried alive (Huh yup!)
Am I coming or going? I can barely decide
I just drank a fifth of vodka -- dare me to drive? (Go ahead)
All my life I was very deprived
I ain't had a woman in years, and my palms are too hairy to hide (Whoops!)
Clothes ripped like the Incredible Hulk (hachhh-too)
I spit when I talk, I'll **** anything that walks (C'mere)
When I was little I used to get so hungry I would throw fits
HOW YOU GONNA BREAST FEED ME MOM? (WAH!)
YOU AIN'T GOT NO TITS! (WAHHH!)
I lay awake and strap myself in the bed
Put a bulletproof vest on and shoot myself in the head (BANG!)
I'm steaming mad (Arrrggghhh!)
And by the way when you see my dad? (Yeah?)
Tell him that I slit his throat, in this dream I had

"Can't Tell Me Nothing" features slow, moody synth-driven production, exemplifying the new sonic direction that would come to dominate much of Graduation.[5] West stated that he drew inspiration from arena-rock bands such as The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, elaborating that the song's chords are akin to that of a rock melody.[6][7] He also explained that, with the track, he wanted to make anthemic music and create a theme song for the people.[8] The song contains audio samples of ad-libs provided by Young Jeezy as well as background vocals provided by Connie Mitchell of the Australian electronic group Sneaky Sound System.[9][10]
Lyrically, "Can't Tell Me Nothing" serves as West's reflection on his fame and as such hovers between insecure and confrontional while marked by bitter regret and self-aware defiance.[5] West begins the song by expounding his conflicted feelings regarding wealth and desire, describing a compulsion to spend that overwhelms any and all other objectives in life.[11] He ties this into his perceived overall inability to keep himself together even as he grows into an increasingly prominent figure in the public eye with lyrics like, "I feel the pressure, under more scrutiny / And what do I do? Act more stupidly."[12]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can't_Tell_Me_Nothing

Quote:

I had a dream I can buy my way to heaven
When I awoke, I spent that on a necklace.
I told God I'd be back in a second,
Man It's so hard not to act reckless.
To whom much is given much is tested.
Get arrested, guess until, they get the message.
I feel the pressure, under more scrutiny,
and what I do? act more stupidly.
bought more jewelry, more louis v, my momma couldn't get through to me.
The drama, people suing me,
I'm on T.V. talking like it's just you and me.
I'm just saying how I feel man,
I ain't one of the Cosby抯 I ain抰 go to Hill man
I guess the money should've changed him,
I guess I should've forgot where I came From.

Let up the suicide doors.
This is my life homey, you decide yours.
I know Jesus died for us,
But I couldn't tell you who decide wars.
So I parallel double parked that mother****er sideways
Old folks talking bout back in my day
But homey this is my day.
Class started 2 hours ago, oh am I late?
You know I already graduated
And you can live through anything if Magic made it.

They say I talk with so much emphasis,
OOOO they're so sensative.
Don't ever fix your lips like collagen
Say something were you gone end up apologising.
Let me know if it's a problem man,
Alright man, holla then.

[Chorus]

Let the champagne splash, let that man get cash,
Let that man get past.
You don't need a stop to get gas,
If he can move through the rumors, he can drive off the fumes cuzz
How he move in a room full of no's?
How he stay faithful in a room full of h**s?
Must be the pharaohs, he in tune with his soul,
So when he buried in a tomb full of gold.
Treasure. What's you pleasure?
Life is a, uh, depending how you dress her.
So if the devil wear Prada,
Adam Eve wear Nada,
I'm in between, but way more fresher.
With way less effort, 'cause when you try hard,
That's when you die hard.
Ya homies looking like "Why God?"
When they reminisce over you, my god.

Chorus - 4x]
Oh when it all, it all falls down
I'm telling you ohh, it all falls down

[Verse - Kanye West]
Man I promise, she's so self conscious
She has no idea what she's doing in college
That major that she majored in don't make no money
But she won't drop out, her parents will look at her funny
Now, tell me that ain't insecurrre
The concept of school seems so securrre
Sophmore three yearrrs aint picked a careerrr
She like **** it, I'll just stay down herre and do hair
Cause that's enough money to buy her a few pairs of new Airs
Cause her baby daddy don't really care
She's so precious with the peer pressure
Couldn't afford a car so she named her daughter Alexus (a Lexus)
She had hair so long that it looked like weave
Then she cut it all off now she look like Eve
And she be dealing with some issues that you can't believe
Single black female addicted to retail and well

[Chorus - repeat 2x (w/ Kanye ad-libs)]

[Verse - Kanye West]
Man I promise, I'm so self conscious
That's why you always see me with at least one of my watches
Rollies and Pasha's done drove me crazy
I can't even pronounce nothing, pass that versace!
Then I spent 400 bucks on this
Just to be like ***** you ain't up on this!
And I can't even go to the grocery store
Without some ones thats clean and a shirt with a team
It seems we living the american dream
But the people highest up got the lowest self esteem
The prettiest people do the ugliest things
For the road to riches and diamond rings
We shine because they hate us, floss cause they degrade us
We trying to buy back our 40 acres
And for that paper, look how low we a'stoop
Even if you in a Benz, you still a ***** in a coop/coupe

[Chorus - repeat 2x (w/ Kanye ad-libs)]

[Verse - Kanye West]
I say **** the police, thats how I treat em
We buy our way out of jail, but we can't buy freedom
We'll buy a lot of clothes when we don't really need em
Things we buy to cover up what's inside
Cause they make us hate ourself and love they wealth
That's why shortys hollering "where the ballas' at?"
Drug dealer buy Jordans, crackhead buy crack
And a white man get paid off of all of that
But I ain't even gon act holier than thou
Cause **** it, I went to Jacob with 25 thou
Before I had a house and I'd do it again
Cause I wanna be on 106 and Park pushing a Benz
I wanna act ballerific like it's all terrific
I got a couple past due bills, I won't get specific
I got a problem with spending before I get it
We all self conscious I'm just the first to admit it